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Herald Reporter

MORE than 200 Chinese nationals among them the elderly, the sick and children recently left Zimbabwe to either be with their families or to go to school, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Guo Shaochun said yesterday.

Ambassador Guo dismissed speculation on social media that the Chinese are leaving because of a spike in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in Zimbabwe.

“Yes it is true that 218, not 200 Chinese left the country recently for the sole reason that some are children going to school, some are the aged over 60 and some are sick persons,” he said.

Of late, social media has been awash with unfounded reports that Chinese are leaving the country due to an increase in Covid-19 cases in the country. However, the ambassador said this was not true.

“In times of difficulties, we all want to be with our families. This month, 218 Chinese nationals in special difficulties were delighted to be able to embark on the journey home. It could not have happened without the support of the Zimbabwean Government. We are enormously grateful,” he said.

Turning to the issue of the recently introduced Hong Kong Security Law, which has been welcomed as a step towards asserting the sovereignty of the island that belongs to mainland China, the Ambassador said some countries are bent on interfering in matters concerning independent states because of selfish interests.

Ambassador Guo said Western countries, including Britain that undemocratically controlled the island for 156 years, all the time imposing governors, are reluctant to see China assert its authority.

According to Xinhua, people in Hong Kong are looking forward to the early implementation of the law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and hope the new law will ensure Hong Kong’s long-term peace and order.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry recently stated that the new national security legislation would enable Hong Kong citizens to better exercise their legal rights and freedoms in a secure environment.

A survey by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce showed that 61 percent of the respondents believed the law would have either a positive or no impact at all on their businesses over the long term.

Some experts have argued that the reason why some US politicians have opposed the legislation is that what they care about is not the freedom enjoyed by Hong Kong residents, but the “freedom” to do everything they want to sabotage China’s national security.